Jewish Women, Amplified

You are here

Leah Berkenwald

Leah Berkenwald.

Leah Berkenwald was born and raised in Northampton, MA, where
"The coffee is strong, and so are the women." As such, she was a
feminist and equal rights activist straight out of the womb. She is
particularly passionate about reproductive rights and sex education,
despite her father's wish that she do something less controversial like
"save the whales." Leah draws strength from the memories of her
grandmothers - two incredible Jewesses with some serious attitude. After three years as JWA's Social Media Specialist, Leah moved on to Wentworth Institute, where she coordinates Wellness Education. You can read her blog at www.leahbee.net

A post on Reddit's TwoXChromosomes is bringing attention back to the wage gap and the role that salary negotiation can play.

Back in October, eJewishPhilanthropy ran an article by Leo Margul joking about a "Jewish update" to the Apple iPhone's automated personal assistant, Siri. "Jewish Siri" has all sorts of features to simplify the life of the modern Jew, like automatic sweater notifications so that everytime the weather dips below 75 degrees, Siri will notify your parents that you are indeed wearing a sweater. (Read more at The Jewish Week, via Rabbi Jason Miller.)

Leah Wolff-Pellingra is the winner of our contest to rename the History Makers series with her suggestion, "Women of Valor." As it happens, the series was originally titled Women of Valor when it was first introduced in 1997. JWA changed the name to "History Makers" in an effort to improve transparency and better characterize the women in the series in 2008. Inspired by Leah's suggestion, the Jewish Women’s Archive is returning the series to its roots and restoring the project’s original title.

In response to the police crackdown on Occupy protests across the country, thousands of people assembled with renewed energy at Occupy Wall Street on November 17th, dubbed the Occupy Wall Street Day of Action. While most protesters understand there is a chance they might be arrested, one protester was actively trying to make that happen. Frances Goldin, 87, has been arrested nine times for civil disobedience; her goal is to make it 12.